Archive for September, 2009

I suppose that tomorrow’s Jazz By the Boulevard could use some “jazzy” art compositions. So here is my tribute to Chicago. I painted this after visiting the city last spring for four days, and soaking up the wonders of Buddy Guy’s “Legends” nightclub. Chicago is a great town, and I miss it.

I am in the Andy Warhol “Factory” mode once again, as I have a 3-day Arts and Music festival beginning tomorrow. These are a few of the watercolors I’ve completed this year and am putting up for sale at the festival. All of them were done en plein aire–a brand new, exhilaring experience for me this year. I’m very excited to be working in this mode now, and the Eureka Springs School of the Arts has offered me a contract to teach a one-week plein air workshop next June. I look forward to creating many, many more of these.

A few years ago, I was asked to create a watercolor of a run-down church to be published on the cover of a fiction novel. The painting, “Last Night in Waterford” can be seen on my website http://www.recollections54.com. More recently, I returned to the church I used as a subject, the Cahill United Methodist Church, south of Burleson, just east of I-35W, and created a small watercolor which now I have made into a greeting card with text. The time is nearly midnight. I’m weary of cards for one day! I’m going to post this and call it a day. Hope you enjoy this one.

Facade of small Methodist Church south of Fort Worth, near Joshua, Texas

As Highway 61 leaves the Mississippi Delta and moves northward to St. Louis, it passes through the town of Old Appleton in southeast Missouri. My father grew up just south of there, in rural Jackson, Missouri. The Silver Dollar Tavern was one of his favorite “blues” haunts when he was young. The main floor was a bar, and the second story was a dance hall. I photographed this site in the early 90’s and created this watercolor, finally making a greeting card available with text on the back. I plan to bring out as many greeting cards as possible during Fort Worth’s Jazz By the Boulevard September 11-13.

Another new card for next weekend’s Jazz By the Boulevard art & music festival. This one features a baitshop I painted back in the early 90’s. I finally got around to making a card from it and putting the text on back.

Sunday afternoon on Labor Day weekend turns out to be pretty quiet. I delivered a sermon at our local Unitarian Church this morning, then entered the studio and began work on adding texts to the backs of a line of greeting cards that feature my watercolors. Here is one of my brother Rick posing with a Fender Strat.

School has completely swamped me the past two weeks. Next weekend begins my 3-day art festival, Jazz By the Boulevard in Fort Worth’s Cultural District. I am bringing out a new line of greeting cards featuring my watercolors on the cover and text on back explaining the setting of the painting. Here is a preview.